Marijuana questions

There has been much discussion and much written about the marijuana cooperatives operating in the City of Vallejo. Most believe they should be allowed because the citizens of Vallejo passed a proposition allowing the city to tax these co-ops. But there remain some legal questions regarding the operation of marijuana co-ops as a legitimate business. In spite of the state allowing co-ops under the medicinal marijuana proposition, recently passed by the voters of California, there is a problem: Under federal law, marijuana is classified as a Schedule 1 drug, listed as a hallucinogenic or psychedelic substance.

Under federal law, there are varying degrees of fines (hundreds of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars) and prison terms (weeks to decades) for misdemeanor and felony charges of sale, possession and cultivation of marijuana. Under the mandatory minimum sentencing laws, judges must sentence the defendant to the mandatory minimum sentence or higher.

Then came Proposition 215, passed by California voters, allowing patients and primary caregivers with a valid doctor's recommendation to possess and cultivate marijuana for personal use. This has been expanded to allow a system of collective and cooperative distribution.

Here is the problem: Sales of any amount and cultivation of any amounts of plants is a federal felony -- plain and simple. There is no getting around it. It would be easier for the state to legalize prostitution then legalize the sale or cultivation of marijuana.

Here's the kicker: Federal law does not recognize the medical necessity defense or defense based on the approval of medical use of marijuana by a physician or individual states. Under the federal statutes, there is simply no such thing as medical marijuana or medical marijuana defense.

So if Californians cannot legally sell or cultivate marijuana, how can any California city legally allow -- let alone tax -- an illegal enterprise, business or co-op? Until or unless Congress or the president, by executive order, remove marijuana from Schedule 1 category, it is not legal by federal law.